I'll Always Be You Friend, Will
by ShadowOfHapiness
Summary: After the events of The Curse Of The Black Pearl, Jack had thought he'd left Elizabeth and Will at the dawn of a new life, but when he comes back a year later, he finds out thing hadn't really gone the way he'd expected...


_**I'll Always Be Your Friend, Will**_

_Cover my eyes_

_Cover my ears_

_Tell me these words are a lie_

_It can't be true_

_That I[m loosing you_

_The sun can not fall from the sky_

_Can you hear a heaven cry?_

_The tears of an angel._

_Tears Of An Angel – Ryan Dan_

It had been a year. A year since Will had seen Jack, sorry *Captain* Jack Sparrow, tumble over the edge of that cliff to join his crew aboard his beloved Pearl and sail away into the high seas beyond the horizon. After defeating Barbossa and using his blood to lift the curse, Will thought everything would be fine, that he'd be able to live a dream, alongside the beautiful woman in whose presence he did not know what to say, Elizabeth.

For months and months he kept visiting her, telling her stories and that one day, he would hope to sail the tides of the world, with her at his side. They would feel the breeze together, share the thrill of the unknown and their hearts would race as they would face any situation, together.

It had only been a dream tough.

The sun had already set a long time ago, in the bay of Port Royal. Most citizens would be sleeping at this hour, except for those in the bar or the royal navy officers on their routine night patrol. However, there was one place that never seemed to sleep, a small smithy, in a dark corner of the town.

The smithy belonged to a certain Vlad , it's new owner since the old Brown had passed away due to the fact that his body hadn't coped with the amount of alcohol that he kept drinking. This tragic incident had left his only apprentice, a certain Will Turner, without a master. However, Commodore James Norrington hadn't seem to agree with this situation and returning from one of his many voyages, he brought back Vlad, to who he offered Port Royal's smithy where his fine body could find it's use.

Unlike Brown , Vlad was a tall man, well made and a lot more rough, even though he drank quite a fair amount too. He was a lot less forgiving than Will's former master, as the boy didn't take long to find out. Mr. Brown, tough he never did any work, never hurt Will. Vlad , however, was a different story. He'd drink all day, and laze around, never working his own body. He'd be at the town's bar or sitting in 's old wooden stool in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on his new apprentice.

Whenever Will made a mistake, it wouldn't earn him a lecture, like it did with Brown, however Vlad seemed to use a lot more radical methods. Instead of employing words, he'd use brute straight and beat it into Will physically until he understood what was his master expected from him. The boy quickly learnt that if the life he lived under Brown was bad, the one he was living under Vlad could only be worse. Beatings ended up turning into something frequent, as were the absence of dinners (which, frankly, Will could tell he was lucky if he even had one in a day).

This had gone on for a year now.

Besides all that, Will kept his head up. Elizabeth's father had reluctantly let his daughter marry the blacksmith. This thought made Will rejoice. Apart from Elizabeth, his life here in Port Royal had become quite miserable. The prospects of marrying the woman whom he had always loved was what kept him going in his job, hoping to be able to leave it all behind him once they'd be married and get a new start.

Every night possible, once Will would have finished the work needed to be done, he'd sneak out of the smithy as silently as possible and hastily make his way to the one place in Port Royal where he'd be able to grace his face with a smile: the Governors Swann's mansion. He wouldn't dare enter the house itself tough, Governor Swann still not really appreciating having the blacksmith around, or even the prospects of him possibly becoming his future son-in-law (the governor would have rather preferred Norrington, Will concluded). He'd simply make his way up to Elizabeth's window and they would talk about everything and anything.

However, the frequencies of these talks were getting larger and larger, Elizabeth almost never being at her window anymore when Will came. Tonight was not an exception.

Will's heart sank yet again at the absence of the woman who made his heart beat. Once more he'd came here and would have to go back without being able to see her. The boy turned around but stopped when he heard a slight noise.

There was silence once again and then the noise came back. At first, Will thought the breeze outside was playing with his mind, but then the same noise came again, and this time, he was sure, this wasn't the wind playing with his head.

The noise came again however, only this time Will could make it out as something more like a slight moan.

_A moan?_ He thought to himself slightly puzzled.

But his suspicions were confirmed as he heard the loving sigh again, only slightly louder this time, and he could clearly make out who it belonged to.

_It was Elizabeth._

Will thought he would stop breathing the rest of his life if he could. _Elizabeth was with someone in that room? _His own question was answered when he heard a yet another lusty moan:

"Oh James!"

"Elizabeth was in there_…. With the Commodore Norrington_?!"Will wondered. But then it came to him, and he started shaking, while sinking down onto the balcony floor, his back to the wall surrounding the window. He started feeling his eyes watering and something rising in his throat but urged himself to silence it, before it would betray his presence. Instead, he listened as they started speaking softly to each other.

"Oh James, I love you so,so much!", it was Elizabeth. "I just can't wait for my father to marry us! It will be the best day in my life, _our_ lives, won't it James? My father will be so happy, _we_ will be so happy and we'll be able to have our own family and you'll be the new governor when the governor passes."

"So do I Elizabeth, ever since we met on that crossing from England, so many years ago. You've always been the pearl guiding me, my only shining star in this dark world. But are you sure of this, Elizabeth? You won-'"

"Oh no, I won't leave you, honestly! Elizabeth interrupted. You're not a passing fancy of mine, like Matthews, Chris or Will. I couldn't even think of turning you down! I had reasons for Matthews, because he turned out to not be proper enough for my father's liking, Chris was already a married man and Will, well I never really loved him, he's just a mere blacksmith, not worth much, YOU tough, are a commodore, and a fine one, the one any woman should dream of marrying and that is what I intend to do, marry you…."

So that was it then, Will thought, she had only been toying with him all that time. He wanted to scream, to tell Elizabeth he had heard all of those things she'd just said, but all he could do was stay silent as a single tear ran down his cheek and his heart broke into tiny pieces one by one. It hurt to feel every part crumble, letting go of his dream and facing reality's cruelty. Elizabeth never meant anything she'd said all that time. _Elizabeth had lied to him…_

The next evening, Will lay on the floor of the smithy, desperately trying to catch his breath, his eyes watering. But it was so difficult, so painful. On top of his ribs burning wildly after yet another of his master's daily beatings (after which he would go get drunk in the nearest bar), Will's heart was also aching, slowly breaking into small pieces, one by one. It hurt so much the boy thought he could feel every part crumbling, slowly, causing him even more pain and desperation.

He was on his own, in the smithy, with for only company, Brown's old donkey. He felt sorry for the poor animal having to work so hard all day but at the moment he would have given anything to be at it's place: "At least it doesn't know how painful a heartbreak feels" he thought bitterly.

The words Elizabeth had said in his back, thinking he could not hear them still stung, as if a snake had sharply bitten him _"…And Will, well I never really loved him, he's just a mere blacksmith, not worth much"._ So much for him being a0 blacksmith, he would never be able to forge anything that could harm as much as Elizabeth's words.

Will felt lonelier than ever now: he had no family to return to, his mother had died when he was still young and he didn't know what had became of his father after Barbossa'd sent him join the bottom of the sea. He'd then met Elizabeth on his crossing from England, but she was also gone now, it was as if nothing had ever happened between them while their adventure with the Black Pearl. And suddenly, Will's current of thoughts turned towards Captain Jack. He'd missed him dearly since he'd left that fateful day. It was only after the pirate had vanished from his life that Will understood what he had meant to him. At first he remembered being weary of Jack, due to the fact that he was a pirate, but in the end, he ended up saving his life when he was about to get his throat slit, he was a true friend.

The Pearl's captain had taught the boy so much about the open world, that his life could go beyond the small smithy in Port Royal, and for that gift he'd made to him, Will felt grateful towards Jack. That was probably one of the reasons that pushed him to save his new friend from the noose that fateful day: Jack had saved his life, it was only fair he'd do the same in exchange.

Tough Jack was gone now to. He'd probably forgotten all about Will now, he thought. "Well he is a pirate" Will remembered, and pirates didn't make everlasting friends. They'd met, they'd worked together in lifting the curse and then they left, to return to a life as if nothing had ever happened. At least Will could imagine Jack was living a better life out in the open sea then he was, here, stuck in Port Royal.

The smithy's apprentice knew already he had no more friends, they'd all left him, forgotten about him. They had all went for better lives: Elizabeth at the sides of commodore Norrington and Jack aboard his beloved Pearl, and he was left behind, he was alone.

Blackness had started to claim the side of his vision and the small gasps of air reaching his lungs were ever so painful. What was left for him in life? He thought miserably, but the answer came crushing down, hard and unforgiving: "There's nothing left for you here Will, you know that." Will's started shaking and before he realized what was going on or what he was doing, crimson liquid started flowing from his wrists he'd just ripped open with one of his sharp tools.

It was probably the most beautiful thing Will had set his eyes on since a long time, as he stared longingly as his life was slowly escaping him. Soon all the pain he was feeling would disappear forever and he'd never feel anything as hurtful again. Besides, who'd care once he would no longer be living? Elizabeth certainly wouldn't, she'd forgotten about him a long time ago, Governor Swann never liked him so he wouldn't really care, Norrington would actually be happy with no _irritating_ blacksmith in his life and Mr. Vlad could just as easily find himself another apprentice when he wanted. _No one would give a damn whether he lived or died._

A small gust of wind outside sent a shiver up Will's spine, making him colder. If he had any regrets in his low life, anything he would have liked to do, right now, he was sure it would have been to see Jack one last time. Jack had been the only person to really acknowledge Will for what he was worth and with whom he felt considered as _something_ and not a mere lowlife like with .

The abyss of darkness was continuously claiming the side of Will's now blurry vision, it was coming to an end. As seconds ran on, the boy felt life escaping from his grasp, and Death's comforting arms opening up to him.

The bays of Port Royal were silent at this time of night, so silent the cripples of the undulating water seemed to make a terrible echo in the depths of the night. Not one soul dared adventure itself outside if only a passing cat in search of food or the wind sweeping the streets. A deathly silence and feeling had covered up the active little place.

However, in the fog rising above the waters, a ship was making its way through the night. Her black sails were torn, revealing it's many scars from battles out at sea and she squealed along the waters as she approached the ghostly town. This ship was none other than _The Black Pearl_ arriving into the docks for the night.

Aboard her, a man came up onto the deck, hair tied up in dreadlocks and eyes smudged with kohl. As he descended the few steps separating the wheel from the deck, swaying dangerously from one side to an other and holding in his right hand, a half-empty bottle of rum, he came to join the sides of a rather smaller pirate, whose age and gray hair betrayed his long knowledge of life at sea.

"Gibb's!" came a slurred voice from behind the less tall of the two men.

"Cap'n Jack!" Gibb's said in a rather startled voice.

It was indeed Jack who'd came up behind him and surprised him but at the moment however, he seems to be contemplating the inert town lying in front of them. It was so quiet, so _silent _'s suddenly felt quite uneasy.

He wasn't the only one. Jack, who was leaning on the railing of the Pearl's side had also sensed trouble in the air and put on a serious face, something quite rare indeed in Gibb's opinion. The pirate captain felt something wrong around him, something lurking in the shadows of the night he would dread to discover but tried to push the growing awareness in him away thinking to himself "The only reason I've come here tonight is to check up on the becoming of two friends of mine, 'tis all". After all, when he seriously thought about it, why would there be something to worry about?

But even when trying to bring a reasoning to himself, Jack just couldn't push away that little bit of fear lurking within him, persistent in the shadows of his mind. He could only hope that it would be a short and pleasant visit, but as the buildings became clearer in the mist, Jack started feeling he'd be getting himself into something quite unexpected.

However, he was interrupted in his current of thoughts when a question escaped 's mouth.

"Are you sure about this, Cap'n? What's pushing you to go to that island again, you're only risking getting caught by the Commodore's men and facing the noose."

Jack's mate was trembling as he made statement. True enough, he would be risking a possible encounter with the redcoats but was it really _worth it_? Jack found himself thinking, but the shook his head.

"Of course it's worth it, any friend is worth a visit from time to time." Jack said out loud, but intended to keep this for himself. His statement earned him a puzzled look from his first mate.

"Cap'n?" Gibb's inquired as he looked up to the _Pearl_'s captain with an expression of misunderstanding written all over his face.

Jack then turned around in his usual swaying style and passed by his first mate, who started running after him immediately.

"Gibb's, I'll be going ashore for a while, I trust you to mind my ship in my absence, savyy?"

And without waiting for a further response from his mate, he made his way to solid ground and walking light-heartedly down the streets of Port Royal, still swaying from left to right slightly. He knew exactly where he was going. However, as he grew nearer and nearer to his destination, he felt the knot of uneasiness starting to resurface again, only stronger this time. After going down a maze of alleys and streets, he finally arrived at the door where a wooden panel bore the inscription of a hammer and underneath it, in carved letters, "Brown".

Jack pushed the slightly opened door and adjusted his eyes to the dim light of the room. Ant it was then that he saw him.

Jack's eyes widened with concern.

"WILL!" He shouted as he rushed to his collapsed friend's side, on the floor. Jack grabbed the blacksmith's apprentice's shoulders in his hands and shook him wildly.

"Will! Wake up! It's Jack! What happened?! Will!"

But there was no answer and Jack noticed that Will wasn't just sleeping but was swimming in the depths of unconsciousness. His eyes widened as he tried to comprehend what was happening.

The dim light of the room didn't help him however and Jack came to the conclusion that it would be easier to get a better study of his friend if he could bring him to the room upstairs, where he could light a small candle.

Jack picked up Will's limp form in his arms. _"Was he always this light?"_ Jack wondered to himself, surprised at how easily he could get a hold of his friend's body. Will's figure didn't make the slightest move however, and Jack concluded that whatever had happened, his friend was really out. _"Work I suppose, being a blacksmith mustn't be an easy task, probably might have worked himself a little too hard." _

The pirate captain proceeded in bringing his friend up the stairs, and then pushed open the door to Will's room with his boot. _" 'tis indeed tiny"_ he thought inwardly. Jack then carefully lay the blacksmith's apprentice on the bed and lit the small candle on the locker.

The Black Pearl's captain's eyes would have popped out if such a thing were possible. He'd seen the pitiful state Will was in in the dark room where he worked, but now that he was up close, and that he could see everything thanks to the light of the burning flame, Jack felt a cold shiver running up his spine and tears starting to well up in the back of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

There, on the bed, lay Will, oblivious to the world around him. Jack noticed just how pale he actually was, and it hadn't been shadows playing with his figure. The blacksmith's face was bruised on the cheek and a slight trail of dried blood from his nose to his mouth indicated it had bled. Jack then noticed scrapes and scars on Wills neck and they started trailing down under his shirt. The pirate decided to then remove the boy's dusty top, dreading what he'd discover.

Jack had to contain a gasp when he did. Similar to his face, Will's body was also as pale as a rotting corpse, torn up, purple with bruises and welts were all over him, and one in particular caught Jack's eye. Unlike the other small and circular ones, this one was long and thin, slightly more blue than purple. This wasn't a work wound, nothing Jack could think of would give anyone a bruise that visible. It was slightly above the boy's stomach. Jack's eyes trailed here and there again, and he really started feeling tears sting at the back of his eyes when they set on his ribs. They were clearly visible poking out madly, as if they were trying to rip the skin apart. The pirate captain had never imagined in the year he'd left the young Turner that he'd be so neglected. "This isn't just malnutrition, this is starvation!" Jack thought, cursing whoever had inflicted such an ill-treatment on his friend.

Lastly, the Pearl's Captain's hands trailed to the blacksmith's ones and took them in his own. They were rough, as he'd remembered Will stating on their adventure two years ago, but Jack's fingers felt something slightly _dry_ underneath and proceeded in turning the wrist around.

Again, he had to suppress a cry of pure shock at the sight before him. Dried blood started peeling away from a deep cut on Will's wrists, and Jack remembered finding a small cutlass not far from where they both were.

"No…." Jack whispered in a shaking voice as he proceeded in putting the puzzle pieces together. What had happened to the strong-willed blacksmith he'd left two years ago? To his knowledge, no matter how hard life could be towards him, Will was someone who kept his head up and faced these situations. He wasn't the type who'd attempt suicide, Jack knew this. "He must have gone through absolute Hell to come to this solution" Jack thought miserably.

Fear groping Jack at the thought of losing the one he considered as his best friend, he started shaking Will.

"Come on Will, wake up! Wake up! ….Wake up for old Jack, please!". He was pleading to a cold body now, as he softly lay Will back down, but Will didn't even stir.

After a while just looking at his friend, Jack was glad to see he was still breathing, shallowly, but he was breathing. The Pearl's captain could only sigh in utter relief, Will was still alive, even if it was barely. It struck then Jack that if Will were to wake, he'd need to patch up his bloody wrists, and started searching for a bandage in his coat, but cursed himself when he remembered they were on the _Pearl_, Jack not bringing them as he was not expecting to use them.

Cursing again, Jack got up and brought a soft hand to Will's face.

"I'll be back, just need to bring back something, to help you." He said as he exited the room, pretty confident that Will wouldn't be moving, it wouldn't really be probable, and especially in the state he was in at the moment. Jack cautiously closed the blacksmith's shop door behind him and started running towards the Pearl.

Jack was running in the narrow streets of Port Royal, sweating like mad as he panted along. The longer it took him to retrieve bandages aboard the Black Pearl, the shorter Will's life would be at his return. To Jack, it seemed like a race against time set by the Devil himself, and if he wasn't quick enough, he'd loose Will….

Pushing the idea to the side of his mind as he arrived in front of the _Pearl_, her black sails were as dark as ever with the contrast of the rising sun behind them. He hastily made his way on board and bumped almost immediately into an inquiring Gibb's.

"Cap'n, I didn't expect you to be back this quickly, did he really not have much to say? And Miss Elizabeth-"

But Jack wasn't really listening to him, instead, he dashed immediately into his cabin and started to search for something he could use as a bandage for Will's wrists. After making a total mess of his cabin, he finally found old strips of torn shirts in a corner, it would have to do…

After coming up from the stocks of rum underneath the Pearl and heading towards his rowboat, Gibb's cornered him, a suspicious look lurking on his face.

"Cap'n! What on Mother's good Earth is going on?! What's got you into such a state!" he exploded out, not understanding the reason for Jack's strange attitude.

Jack turned to him, looking at his first mate sharply in the eyes.

"Will…. He, he, he's dying, I've got to bring 'im back! Wait for us here!" Jack said, in a panicked voice.

"Cap'n…" Gibb's started, but Jack had already jumped off and had started to trail down the alleys. He hadn't liked the scared expression Jack had worn his face on his return to the Pearl. No matter for how long he'd sailed with him, Gibb's had never seen Jack this panicked. Something had to be clearly wrong with the young mister Turner for his captain to act like this.

Jack however wasn't reflecting on why he was acting like this as he ran down the waking streets of Port Royal. He'd only had one idea in mind after grabbing the bandages aboard the Pearl: go back to help his friend, and then inquire him as to what had happened to him, and to why he wasn't with Miss Elizabeth. Jack thought they would have been married by now, that they would even have maybe had their first child. He certainly wasn't expecting to find Will dying on the floor of his smithy with cuts, burns and bruises all over him. _Something_ was clearly wrong , he'd missed some event anyway.

The smithy was in sight, Jack's heart was pounding madly. He was almost there when he heard a scream escaping the place. His body shaking at the cry, he knew the only person it could come from, ant that was Will. Jack ran the last few strides separating him from his best friend and burst into Vlad's shop, body still trembling madly from his exhausting run.

As the sun rose in the morning sky, offering a new day for the inhabitants of Port Royal, Will was woken from unconsciousness by a blow in the ribs from a strong leg.

"Up, ye worthless brat! T'work with ye!" the rough and slurred voice of his new master spat, echoing in the empty smithy.

But still slightly shaken from last night's beating, Will couldn't make it up to his feet, even if he tried. His overworked body just wouldn't give in and the boy was there, helpless on the floor with a mad man staring down at him.

"I said, GET UP!" Vlad yelled as he kicked his apprentice in the ribs again, knocking air out of his lungs. He was getting impatient.

At the sound of his master, Will immediately started trembling from all over and shut his eyes to not see what was coming for him. He knew his new master well enough to know he wouldn't give into his curled up form. If Norrington had been looking to make his life a living nightmare, he could honestly say from the first day he'd worked under this new master, that the commodore could be satisfied. Still shaking on the floor, Will could only plead in a shaking voice:

"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

But his plea didn't reach his master's ears. It only earned him to be picked up roughly from the floor by the collar of his shirt to stare into the small glimmering grey eyes of , the red face he'd put on certainly wasn't for the act.

His master only threw him back violently to the floor, knocking the air out of Will's lungs for a moment, but didn't come down immediately beating him. As he caught oxygen in his mouth, Will dared to turn an unsteady head towards the muscled man only to open his eyes wide in fear, cold sweat running down his spine.

Vlad, after dropping the whelp to the floor had turned around to swipe one of the heating swords in the fires of the smithy. His eyes locked on the still red-hot blade, a tremendous heat wave escaping it and grasped it quickly in his rough, grimy hands.

Will stared with only terror reflected in his eyes as he tried to scramble backwards and flee what was coming for him, but it was to no avail. His still sore body from previous beatings didn't make it very far before being caught firmly in firm hands and feeling the searing burn from the superheated blade as it hit him. When the boy tought he was about to fade into unconsciousness, not ready to wake again, the door of the smithy burst open.

Jack's heart was about to stop at what laid in front of him. He'd thought Will's injuries had been from work accidents, even if some of them were hard to fit with the idea, especially the long bruise over his stomach, but seeing what laid down in front of his eyes, he quickly understood how Will had gotten into this state: they weren't wounds from work, they were wounds from beatings!

Jack couldn't stop the helpless cry escape him:

"Will!"

But then he thought better of it. After catching the drunk madman in front of him, he started to suspect he'd been the one who got his friend into this state, and the thought of it sent a shiver down his spine. Jack quickly made his way over to the muscled man and kicked him off Will.

Vlad rolled on the floor, not exactly understanding what had gotten between him and his beating. As he made it to face the person, scanning him with blurry, drunken eyes, the only thing escaping his mouth, in a slurred tone was:

"An' who'ere ye?"

Jack just threw a fist to the drunk's face, sending him backwards and yelling in pain and frustration.

"Ye bastard, who d'ye think ye are? I'm the master 'ere!" the tanned muscled man spat at him.

But Jack didn't pay any attention to his statement, to be honest, he couldn't care less. But after catching him beating his friend to unconsciousness, he certainly wasn't going to let him get away with it. No one ever meddled with Captain Jack's closest friends and got away with it!

Instead of answering, Jack bent down next to , pulling him up by the collar and looking at him, flames burning in his eyes.

"Firstly, allow me to introduce myself, I go around by the name of Captain Jack Sparrow."

This only earned Jack a drunken face of misunderstanding. Jack felt something slightly tint his pride: the man did not know of "Captain Jack Sparrow"?! But he trailed on.

"Secondly, 'hope you don't have anyone to see before your life ends, because if you do well… I'm sorry for ye! Nobody, ye hear! NOBODY messes with MY mates and gets away with it!" Jack was practically yelling now.

With that said, Jack turned his head and fired the pistol he held in his other hand.

Once he heard the "Thud" indicating Will's former master had hit the floor, Jack immediately dashed over to Bootstrap's child, still unconscious on the floor. He needed to get both of them out of here fast, the shot certainly hadn't gone unheard.

Jack, with Will in his arms, proceeded to the back door and just shut it just when a great deal of yelling and panic could be heard from the other side. He'd wanted to get back to the Pearl but with everyone awake now thanks to the shot, it wouldn't be as easy, they'd need to wait till either the commotion to settle or for the night to come.

Still running along up a hill, the Pearl's captain noticed he'd gotten quite a bit out of the main village of Port Royal, no one would be coming after them here. So he slowed down and as he was catching his breath, Jack came across an old abandoned farmhouse, the roof starting to crumble down onto the rest of the building. He decided they could maybe take a break in there, and Jack could really take a look at Will's wounds here, and maybe even start to look after them, with the rags he'd brought.

The Pearl's captain pushed the rest of the door, and it opened up with a long _creeaaaaaak_, sending slight shivers up his spine as he entered what was left of the house. Jack stepped into a dark room, with dust all over the floor and left-behind objects there such as a small table. Cobwebs were in every corner, giving the place a ghostly atmosphere. As the pirates eyed around him with interest he noted with a grim smile _"At least we won't be alone"_ as he referred to the crawling spiders on the floor. Jack then noticed wodden stairs leading up to a floor above, and made his way up on the squeaking steps.

He arrived in a new room, or more something closer to a _storage_ room. Jack started coughing, dust was everywhere, almost covering the visibility of the captain. Bringing up his spare hand to wipe the nuisance away, Jack caught a glimpse of where he'd just come.

There was nothing there really, no table or chairs like there was downstairs, no bed either. Jack sighed. All left up there was stocks of hay, probably stocks that had been forgotten about or never used, but it would have to do.

Jack lay Will down onto the mattress the hay formed, not the most comfortable, but it would have to do. As he did so, he heard a slight whimper underneath him, and he felt guilty, guilty for leaving his friend go through a beating that could have been prevented had he been there.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed. "Wake up Will!" He started pleading again, but got no answer, only gasps as Will worked his lungs to intake small breaths.

Now that they were alone, not risking an interruption any time soon, Jack was finally able to get a good look on just how bad the state his friend was in actually was, and a part of him regretted immediately searching the answer.

With an unmoving friend on the floor, Jack cautiously removed Will's shirt and winced inwardly. He had got to know the boy when they'd worked together in lifting the Aztec curse and rescuing the ungrateful Miss Elizabeth, and Jack learnt that Will was someone strong-headed and could be so stubborn he'd push himself way too hard. It both amused and scared Jack at the same time: his friend would be ready to do anything if it was worth it but sometimes beyond reason. He'd regretted not being there for the past year, thinking he could have maybe convinced Will to not work himself to exhaustion or even to come away with him on the _Pearl_.

But after the encounter with his master (or more "former master" now), he'd understood that even if he had dropped in from time to time, it probably wouldn't have changed much The fear Will held towards his master making him work too hard for what his body was capable of, and even if Jack had talked his friend into taking a little break now and then, he probably wouldn't have.

Ah he wrapped the bandages he'd retrieved aboard the Pearl around the blacksmith's apprentice, Jack still felt extremely bad with himself, especially the fact that, as a friend, he hadn't been there to comfort Will. Seeing what he'd went through made the pirate feel sick, and the thought that, despite the beatings and malnutrition, his friend had still worked for his ungrateful master made him compassionate.

The boy was too _forgiving_, even when Will had heard Jack talking about him being leverage against Barbossa in the matters of lifting the curse, he had still forgiven Jack, and had come to save his life when Norrington was about to execute them. After reflecting on those past events, he pirate started feeling he was unworthy of earning Will's friendship, and next to the Black Pearl and his trusty crew, it was probably one of the treasures he valued the most, no amount of gold could buy you a true friend. He'd lost Bootstrap and now he was facing the possibilities of losing his son too, Jack started wondering if some kind of "Turner curse" had fallen upon him!

Jack then finished patching up the boy and buttoned up his shirt, while making sure the hay under him was thick enough for the boy not to feel the hard floor. Once he was satisfied, Jack then retrieved a small wodden stool from a dusty corner, brushed the dirt off and put it next to Will's body, prepared to spend the night by his friend's side. As time passed by Jack felt his eyes getting quite heavy, but forced himself to keep awake.

The pirate captain suddenly found himself aboard the Pearl, in his own cabin. Jack smiled, he had missed the atmosphere of his "home". The pirate then got up and strolled towards the small place where he kept some of his best bottles of rum and picked one out that seemed quite inviting. He swiped his head around when he heard a soft moan coming from behind him.

On his bed, Jack saw his best friend, still sleeping silently. The more he looked at him, the more the pirate found Will was "the splitting image of old Bootstrap'" : the same face, same smile, the same stubbornness and the same heart, full of kindness. Jack smiled, he felt lucky to share the treasure of friendship with them, even if Will was now the only one left of the two since Bootstrap had been send to Davy Jones.

Jack brought forward his hand, in the aim of gently replacing a rebellious lock of hair that had fallen into Will's face. As he got closer, he noticed he was shaking, but grabbed the stray hair all the same. He was about to place it behind his friend's ear when the blacksmith's eyes shot open.

Will awoke with a gasp, eyes wide open and panting heavily. With fright in his eyes, he quickly glanced around the room until he met Jack's face. At the sight, he caught his breath and started drawing back, still trembling but not saying anything. Jack however didn't really understand Will's odd behavior.

"Will, what are you doing?" he said in a calm voice, trying not to display the fact he was confused.

But the boy didn't say anything, instead he only shook his head a few times, as if he were trying to shake the image of Jack out of his mind as he backed up as far from the pirate as possible. Jack got even more puzzled, why was Will afraid of him?

"Will, it's Jack, you remember me, don't you?" Jack tried to reason his friend and approached him with his left hand.

The blacksmith's apprentice only jerked back, terrorized by Jack's approach, and fell out of the bed. He looked back up at the pirate, eyes wide and full of fear. Jack only wanted to help him, and put up a warm smile as he made another step towards Turner.

"Will, it's me, Jack!" the pirate said, slightly more quickly this time, why didn't Will recognize him?

Will however still had the scared look upon his face and eyed the room again. He then noticed the locker next to the small bed he had been in and a small dagger belonging to Jack upon. Will pushed past Jack and the pirate fell to the floor, knocking his head hard. With a soft grunt, he made it back to his feet and dashed towards the blacksmith's apprentice. But he was too late.

"Will!"

Jack, tears flowing down his cheeks, crashed next to his friend, who now had his eyes closed and the small blade dug deep inside his heart.

Jack woke up in a startle, sweat trickling down his face and shaking. _It had only been a dream_ he tought to himself as he sighed in relief. As Jack stretched his hand, he noticed that Will was still there, next to him, sleeping lightly. His friend was still alive, still with him and would wake again. The pirate captain could honestly say that that had been one of the most frightening dreams he'd ever had. _Good thing it was only a dream._ As much as Jack had wanted to wake Will, he decided not to, in case a turn of events like he'd just dreamt would occur.

Instead, the pirate noticed Will was sweating and seemed to have trouble breathing despite the cold. Jack took out the rag he'd been able to find aboard the Pearl, drenched it the rum he'd brought back and put it softly over Will's brow. It may not have been as effective as water, but it was better than nothing. The boy's breath became more even, showing Jack he was right.

The pirate eyed Will up and down again. He'd managed to stop the blood pouring out of his wrists and nose and had patched up some other parts of his friend's body. However, there were wounds Jack could not tend to such as the long purple beating mark on Will's stomach, erase the traces of burns, rid himself of the sight of the blacksmith's preeminent ribs or the sickening color of his friend's skin. Only time would heal those, and even at that, Will would be left with lifelong scars of what had happened to him. Jack felt his heart turn heavy as he reflected on the fact that he hadn't come to the boy's rescue sooner, by paying him a simple visit. "Look at Captain Jack Sparrow now…." he thought to himself bitterly.

As Jack was deep within these self-reflections, he hadn't noticed his hand hovering over Will's body, neither did he notice when he settled it on Will's ribs.

At the touch, Will's eyes shot open. His master had always woke him up this way. He began trembling again and could only plea in the hopes of receiving a "slightly less harsh" beating.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I won't do it again!" Will was pleading, as he could only do to defend himself, too weakened to do it physically.

Jack's eyes widened as he heard Will cry. He didn't understand what had gotten into his friend, what was he sorry for? He'd only been sleeping, or more recovering than sleeping.

"Will, What-?" Jack started, but was interrupted by Will's sobbing.

"Please, don…. Don't hurt me." Will continued in a weak voice, tears still running down his face.

With that, Will fell back into unconsciousness, too weak to stay awake.

Jack still had his eyes wide open, but couldn't find anything to say. Instead, he picked up the bandage roll he'd gotten aboard the pearl and fixed Will's arm. It suddenly dawned on him what Will had been forced to endure _alone_ for the past long year.

The pirate regretted even more the fact that he'd sailed away and not come back for him earlier. Will had been rejected by the one person he'd always loved from afar and risked his life to save to and then beaten continuously by a lazy master who barely fed him. _Oh Will, I'm so sorry _Jack said aloud softly, not caring whether the boy heard him or not, it made him feel slightly better.

Now more than ever, Jack was determined to bring Will along with him on his next adventures, make him regain his confidence and show him that he wasn't alone. Life was something every person should be entitled to, no one should have been going around telling Jack's friend he wasn't worthy enough to live. Whatever it was, Will never seemed to be enough: never worked enough, never strong enough, never living up to the expectations of the higher classes, never good enough…. Jack understood the burden his friend had bared to simply be able to _survive_ in a society where nobody valued him.

Jack, on the other hand, valued Will greatly. He wasn't a poor blacksmith to his eyes, Will was the son of one of his best mates, and the boy himself was one of the true friends Jack had ever had, probably even his _best friend_. To Jack, Will was more than worthy enough to earn the right to live: he was a heard-worker and he always put others before himself thus living with a broken heart. The boy was however too reserved. Jack had seen this by the fact that Will had told no one about his master beating him beyond reason or even not trying to keep Elizabeth as a friend in some way. _She must have done something quite harsh to Will for him not to still be with her…._ Jack concluded.

The person Jack had left a year ago had totally disappeared, as if the "old Will" had never even existed. The pirate felt something missing as he had discovered the state Will was in: it wasn't the high-spirited boy who would risk his life willingly and defy anyone for something he believed in, no it wasn't him at all anymore. Instead, Jack was now with a shadow cast out of society, asked too much of and earning nothing but misery, a shadow living that nobody cared about.

Every day since Jack's leave, Will had died a little inside.

As dawn crept into the small shattered windows of the ruin Jack had found, Will felt his eyes flutter open. He blinked a few times, surprised to still be alive…. or was this just a dream?

Will moved so as to get a slightly better view of where he was. The pain coursing through his head was terrible but he still cast a glance around: a small room, very few objects and….

"Jack?..." Will said weakly_. Either I'm really dead or this is a dream_ the boy thought inwardly.

Jack raised his head when he heard his name being said. As he looked up, he smiled: Will was awake, looking at him, Will was indeed alive.

"Aye Will, it's me, it's Jack" the pirate said as he brought a hand forward to change the cloth on Wills arm.

But Will jerked back immediately, the look of disbelief turning into one of fear, and he clutched his injured arm closely to himself. Jack noticed it, and understood quite well to. His friend was probably scared of anyone coming near to him since the only person to have been around him in the past year had been his master, and Will probably hadn't good memories of him being close.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm your friend" Jack said in a calm voice, eyes still locked on the frightened look expressed by Turner Junior.

"_Friend" _the word echoed in Will's head. He remembered thinking he hadn't got any friends not too long ago, but now he had Jack. Jack said he was a _friend_, something Will thought he'd long since lost, something he longed for and never expected to have again since he'd overheard Elizabeth and Norrington, something he had started to forget the meaning of. He never had many "friends", and the very few he'd had had all left him, abandoned him, all safe for Jack. Jack said he still was a _friend_.

"Friend" Will repeated in a voice no louder than a whisper, "friend…."

And then, to Jack's surprise, Will let tears roll down his cheeks and sobbed as he clung to Jack, as if the pirate was the only thing that was making him live. Jack felt the blacksmith hug him around the neck and cry on his shoulder. It hit one of the pirate's soft spots, and Jack found himself hugging Will back.

The Pearl's captain's thoughts suddenly drifted to an offer he was going to make to Will. Jack knew he couldn't stay in Port Royal, it would kill him eventually, and the pirate wouldn't want that to happen to someone who still had a whole life in front of him. No, he wouldn't want Will to go back to the smithy, instead, he was thinking about offering him a place aboard the Pearl, offering Will a new life, a life where he'd be happy and be able to _live_ again.

As Jack made up his mind, he said gently:

"Aye Will, I'll always be your friend."


End file.
